Agile Business Analysis Common Agile Analysis Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A business analyst is facilitating a story mapping session. What is the PRIMARY purpose of the horizontal axis in a story map?
- Represent the priority of user stories
- Represent the sequence of user activities over time (Correct answer)
- Group stories by team ownership
- Indicate story point estimates
Correct answer: Represent the sequence of user activities over time
The horizontal axis in a story map represents the narrative flow of user activities in the order they occur.
Question 2: Which technique involves asking 'why' repeatedly to drill down to the root cause of a problem during agile analysis?
- Fishbone Diagram
- 5 Whys (Correct answer)
- Impact Mapping
- Kano Analysis
Correct answer: 5 Whys
The 5 Whys technique iteratively asks 'why' to peel back symptom layers and expose the true root cause.
Question 3: During backlog refinement, a BA uses MoSCoW prioritization. A feature labeled 'Could Have' means:
- It must be delivered in the current sprint
- It should be delivered if time permits but is not critical (Correct answer)
- It will never be delivered
- It replaces a Must Have if that item is cut
Correct answer: It should be delivered if time permits but is not critical
'Could Have' items are desirable but not critical, and are only included when time and resources allow.
Question 4: A product owner wants to validate assumptions about user behavior before building a feature. Which agile analysis technique is MOST appropriate?
- Prototyping and usability testing (Correct answer)
- Writing a detailed BRD
- Creating a RACI matrix
- Running a sprint retrospective
Correct answer: Prototyping and usability testing
Prototyping and usability testing allow teams to validate assumptions about user behavior with minimal build investment.
Question 5: In Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), the Given-When-Then format is used to:
- Estimate story points collaboratively
- Express acceptance criteria in a testable, human-readable format (Correct answer)
- Map business capabilities to technical components
- Prioritize the product backlog
Correct answer: Express acceptance criteria in a testable, human-readable format
Given-When-Then structures acceptance criteria as scenarios that describe system behavior in plain language understandable by all stakeholders.
Question 6: An agile team is using impact mapping. What does the 'How' level of an impact map represent?
- The business goal being pursued
- The actors who influence the goal
- The deliverables or features the team will build (Correct answer)
- The behavior changes expected from actors
Correct answer: The deliverables or features the team will build
The 'How' level in impact mapping lists the deliverables (features/activities) that the team will build to create the desired impact.
Question 7: Which elicitation technique is BEST suited when a BA needs to understand how different user types interact with a system across multiple scenarios simultaneously?
- One-on-one interviews
- Observation/shadowing
- Focus groups (Correct answer)
- Surveys
Correct answer: Focus groups
Focus groups bring multiple user types together, enabling a BA to observe interactions and capture diverse perspectives on system use simultaneously.
Agile Business Analysis Common Agile Analysis Techniques 2
A business analyst is facilitating a story mapping session.
What is the PRIMARY purpose of the horizontal axis in a story map?